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Magic
Magic is a living energy that flows through all things. It can be harnessed, but as with any being possessed of awareness, Magic rebels against constraint. If a Mage missteps or lacks subtlety in their manipulations, they might incur Magic’s ire. This is known as a Miscast. Power continues to flow through the Mage, but in ways contrary to the desired effect. Such uncontrolled energy is almost always dangerous… Magic must never be taken lightly! Spellcraft To cast a spell is to coerce Magic into conjuring an effect. Spells require incantations and gestures. Sometimes they require offerings of blood, vitality, or rare components. A near-meditative state of focus is also necessary, allowing the Mage to project their will unerringly upon Magic. Each race and culture practices their own distinct forms of spellcraft, with most mages taking years to truly master their chosen casting style. Conduits Those born with an instinctive ability to perceive and manipulate Magic are called Conduits. They need not the training of other Mages to cast spells and it takes less effort for them to conjure magical effects over extended periods. Due to limited study however, their sorcerous arsenals tend to be limited… lots of raw power, but little variation in it’s application. None know exactly how or why these gifted souls come to be. High Magic Magic prefers to bend reality rather than break it. Thus, to better avoid miscasts the Elves developed High Magic. By forming a spiritual symbiosis with Magic, Elven High Mages are capable of miraculously precise and long-lasting spells. Due to Magic’s influence however, these spells are rarely destructive, tending to take the form of defensive wards or illusions. The complex training required to learn High Magic spans centuries, making it unattainable for shorter-lived races. Elves have a very close connection to Magic, calling it by the name Taeyaloo, and are the only folk whose mystical Healers can draw upon it in full. Dark Magic Magic recoils from those seeking to bend nature in obscene ways. Not so Demons, who willingly commit such blasphemies. Therefore, mages who dabble in necromancy and other vile forms of spellcraft learn to draw upon the power of Ruin itself. There are deadly risks however. During a Dark Magic miscast, demons assert control of the spell, guiding it to cause greater mayhem or worse… using the baleful energies to anchor themselves to the caster, leading to possession and mutation or even death. Sorcerous Tongues Incantations are spoken in Magicka, a language threaded with sorcery. Onlookers witnessing spells often hear echoes of common words and phrases within the stream of arcane gibberish. This experience is described as mind-speak. Spells recorded in tomes and scrolls are also written in Magicka, making them almost impossible to read without the same meditative state required during casting. Dark Magic practitioners speak a defiled form of Magicka, called Infernum, the language of Demons. It is this horrid tongue that they choose to implement whilst casting, completely isolating their spells from Magic’s benign influence. Loci, Null Zones, and Wild Zones * A Locus is an area where magical energy gathers in overabundance. Spontaneous supernatural effects grow rife and Mages often seek these Loci, wishing to leech the excess power. * Some locations become anathema to Magic. Within these Null Zones it becomes all but impossible for Mages to cast spells. * In certain places Magic seems affected by lunacy. Spells cast in such a space are far more potent than intended and have an unfortunate habit of going wildly, randomly, out of control. Mages call these spots Wild Zones. Elementals Elementals are ancient spirits attuned to a single aspect of nature. They swim through Magic’s all-encompassing currents, using it to create material changes that suit their aspect-driven whims. Most Elementals can achieve small feats, such as keeping a particular tree alive despite a drought... but the truly powerful might summon storms or manifest arcane bodies for short periods to defend what they love. Elementals are drawn to Loci, and those tied to the aspect of life might even form courts around them in imitation of mortal gatherings. Traversing The Planes Mortals, for a variety of foolhardy reasons, sometimes seek to cross from the Corporeal Realm and enter another. Such a proposition is not only perilous, but generally impossible without direct deific assistance or reality-breaking Magic. Legends tell of powerful Mages who step briefly between worlds or teleport between neighboring towns, but only the long-gone Weftyril were capable of mastering this kind of travel and even they were forced to rely upon permanent portals; greatly reducing the risk of becoming lost, trapped, or falling prey to curious Demons… a precaution none living can yet recreate!